Online headaches for Gauteng education

"We were flooded by parents from across the country when they system was only built for parents in Gauteng," he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Parents have now been urged to register their children for the 2017 academic year and apply for space as from next week Tuesday, 19 April, from 8.00am.

Lesufi stressed that this process was only open to parents and guardians of grade 1 and grade 8 learners.

Learners in other grades will still have to be manually registered.

In the meantime, the online system was being fine-tuned.

"Government officials over the next couple of days will be able to login and register, we are stress testing with them," he said 

Lesufi apologised to parents for the inconvenience and the confusion caused.

"I've noted the queries that came from parents, guardians and some of our stakeholders and I want to unreservedly apologise on behalf of the department," Lesufi said.

Here's what you need to know to register next week Tuesday, according to the Gauteng Department of Education:

The registration and application period commences on 19 April 2016 at 08:00 and will close at midnight on 1 June 2016.  Application criteria include:

1.    A school close to residential or work address.

2.    A sibling attending the same school (not applicable if the learner is in Grade 7 or 12).

3.    School of choice.

The following documents are required to complete the verification/registration and application process:

·         ID copy of the parent

·         Birth Certificate of learner

·         Passport and Study permit obtained from Home Affairs

·         Proof of address for home or work.

An automated SMS will be sent to the parent's cell phone number to confirm the submission of the online application. Once SMS confirmation has been received it is important to submit all the required documents needed at the schools within two weeks.

Phase 3: Placement: the placement of learners will commence from 24 June until 07 September 2016.

For learners who are currently in Grade 2 to 6 in primary schools and Grade 8 to 11 in secondary schools applications will be processed by schools from 11 - 18 April 2016.

Parents who are relocating and would like to apply for the in between grades (Grades 2 to 7 and Grades 8 to 11) must consult with the school to verify availability of spaces. Spaces will be confirmed pending the current learner enrolment, learner retentions in each grade and in line with the capacity of the school.

The online application cannot be used to apply for Grade R and schools for learners with special educational needs.

The department said it has opted for an online application process because it is convenient, easy to access and enables planning and fair distribution of learners across the Gauteng education system. 

"Starting the admission process early is crucial to ensure allocation of resources, such as learning and teaching materials; furniture, human resources; and infrastructure," the department said.

In addition this enables teaching and learning to commence on the first day of school in 2017. Equally important is for schools to have sufficient time to prepare timetables, recruit teachers and where necessary arrange nutrition and scholar transport.

"We urge all governing bodies to work with us to ensure the admissions process runs smoothly and all learners who start primary or secondary school in 2017 are able to access quality basic public education," the department said.

The Department can be reached as follows:

Gauteng Department of Education: 111 Commissioner Street, Johannesburg, 2001.

Postal Address: P.0.Box 7710, Johannesburg, 2000

Switchboard: (011) 355 0000

Call Centre: (011) 355 0966/0559/0198/0600

Toll Free number: 0800 000 789

E-mail: [email protected]

Parents took to social media to voice their frustration...